The Collector | DIY Feather and Plate Wall Art

June 2, 2014/

I’m a hoarder a collector.

I love things. I love certain kinds of things. And then when I love certain kinds of things, I love having lots of those kinds of things.

I am a collector.

What makes me drawn to certain things?Things that have character. a story. a history. These things speak to me silently. Calling out to give them a new home where they will be cherished. treasured. adored. I oblige.

Being a collector does have its downsides (depending on how you look at it). You can end up with a bunch of useless stuff that you just like to look at. clutter up your home, and allow your things to swallow you up.

Or

Learn to be a selective collector. This is what I have been working towards for the past several months. Living in a smaller home without much space for showing off collections, forces me to be choosy.

I did not do this several years ago. If I liked it and could afford it, it went home with me.

Not so anymore.

Now, I have to decide if its presence in my home will add to its beauty or add to its clutter.

It is a tough call sometimes. But it gets easier as time goes on and I learn, to enjoy the negative spaces too. The ones that aren’t filled up with my collections. Where there is room to dream, imagine, hope. Spread out. Feel light and not weighed down. Breath.

I am learning that those spaces are equally as important.

I have been a collector of ironstone and transferware for quite some time. These are items that I cannot leave behind no matter what.

I find that they always add to the beauty around me.

I have been playing with some ideas for creating a simple gallery style wall in my dining room. It involves my collection of gold frames, random ironstone and transferware dishes, feathers and masking tape.

(Just an FYI: The background in these photos is not the walls of my dining room no matter how much I wish it were. It is a rustic cart we have on our back patio.)

It took some work to get the feathers to lay flat and make the masking tape keep them put, but eventually it worked and I am looking forward to hanging this grouping on the wall. I love finding unique ways to display my collections.

What are your favorite items to collect? Have you found a balance for keeping your favorite collections from becoming clutter? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Visit my Pinterest board the collector for more collection inspiration.

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18 Comments

I am a collector, I come from a long line of collectors. I to have had to be selective. Sometimes I just want a minimalist look so I put things away. A few months later I am dragging them back out. lol What a wonderful struggle.

Oh boy! I can relate to this post 100% I am a collector to the extreme! But thankfully I don't like clutter so when my house gets a little overwhelming I'm ok with letting things go……most of the time 😉 And, your photos are just BEAUTIFUL!!!

I used to be just like you were. I'd buy whatever I liked and could afford, but over time, I realized that I liked many, many things but didn't always love them, and they didn't always stand the test of time with me, so I was wasting time trying to get rid of all of those extra things. Another thing I learned is that more is not really better. In fact, all of those little things I thought I needed ended up causing stress–clutter is never peaceful, not to me anyway. My husband also helped me to realize that negative space, as you mentioned, is a valuable thing in a home. I finally learned to see decorating and purchasing the way he saw it, and he was right. My new way of shopping yard sales, flea markets, etc. is that if it is a step up from what I have, I will buy it and get rid of what it is replacing. As for collecting, if it is made by God's hands–all things natural–sand dollars, coral, birds' nests, branches, fossils, feathers, I will keep them because I have always had an affection for the outdoors and His creation is everlasting as opposed to fleeting trends. These curiosities also work for us in two ways: they bring beauty to our home and are also great to use in homeschooling.

I am like you in so many ways! Now, I buy more discriminately than I used to, though. Partly because I have SO much and at this age we will think about downsizing. I will hate to see some of my collections "go" someday. GREAT post- and your collections/photos are wonderful! xo Diana

I'm a collector, too – and the storage space in my basement is showing it! I'm slowly but surely getting rid of stuff. I simply have too much. Thus said, I love your plates! And I love how you have the plate with the feathers hanging in the frame…beautiful.

Alice, I just recently started following you, and I love this post. I, too, am a collector – of many things. Some of my favorites include vintage and antique mesh and beaded purses, dishes (ironstone & transfer ware being subsets), old linens, and even religious relics. Restraint is a virtue in the world where there is just so much STUFF! I love the restraint you're using in this wall grouping so far. Cheers to mastering it with collecting!

Love this post, I am a collector too like lots of people I think! I also love ironstone and I have a collection of bird themed things going on right now in my living room. Your feathers in the dish are so beautiful I might have to make one for myself!

Love your collections! I am a collecter (hoarder) too, but I try to evaluate each thing I buy now to see if it will just add to the clutter. Being married almost 28 years, 2 kids, 2 dogs and 1 hubby (and all the stuff that comes with them), sometimes makes our house seem much smaller.